The Price of Freedom
by Filomena Mississippi
Summary: How much are you willing to give?
1. Chapter 1

**The Price of Freedom**

He ran through the pouring rain, hoping not to catch a cold. Once he reached the doorknob, he hurried inside and he tossed his wet cloak to a corner of the room. It was that moment he fixated on the hooded figure standing a few feet from him. Instinctly, he knew who it was. He tensed.

_**. . . ** _

Link was still half asleep when he met Ilia by the river. It's water flowed at a calm pace as it snaked across their village. With the sun up in the clear blue sky, Ilia looked beautiful.

He had missed his best friend over the last couple of months. But time seemed insignificant when they were reunited. Usually, Link would pass an hour or two retelling his new adventures, with bits exaggerations here and there. The rest of the time Link was there they spent their time talking, joking and laughing. Though he didn't stay for very long, they always made their time together worth while it lasted.

They hugged for several minutes, until Link backed off and held Ilia at arms length.

"You don't look so bad this time", Said Ilia playfully. "I'm guessing the story you bring home this time will not be so exciting, huh?"

He laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze on her shoulders before loosening his grip. His hands falling at his sides, while he openly smiled at her.

"It doesn't matter, you know?" She continued. "Father and the rest of the village will still be proud of you. They'll always be." She paused a moment, before adding: "I'll always be."

And of course they all were. Because of Link, Faron Woods had more visitors than ever. The shop was bigger, the pumpkin business shipped more products to more villages and they even opened a nice inn. It all began since the news spread like wildfire. When people heard of where the hero of Hyrule came from.

Link gave Ilia a grateful smile, but before he could hide it, she noticed a glimpse of tiredness and loneliness so profound, it made her shiver of all sudden.

"When will it stop Link?" She heard herself ask in a whisper, before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

Link regarded her with his big blue eyes, wide with amazement. They never talked about this, so he answered with honesty.

"I don't know. I wish I did", He gave a long sight. "I wish it did."

Ilia knew he was tired of it. Since his defeat against Ganon, when he was just a 17 year old boy, he had been the Royal family's secret weapon against the most dangerous threats.

Four years had passed since, and they still relied on him for the work. Why they kept him a secret was a mystery to them all. The only ones to know where the villagers, the Royal family and himself.

Ilia caressed his cheek afectionaly, lightly brushing his skin with her fingertips.

"Let's have a picnic" She suggested, as she took his hand in hers. Ilia guided him to Epona, which was loaded with a neat basket. It was sorted with a colorful variety of fresh food.

"How did you know I would go to this small trip of yours?" Her smile widened as she heard his mocking tone behind her.

"I always do. Now, let's not waste time and hurry before someone sees you're here", Ilia gave Link a sideways glance and added "You can tell me all about your grand new adventure on our way to the spring."

They took Epona with them and sat in the fresh grass. Link silently thanked Ilia for taking him away from the village. It was too soon to face the others and accept their invitations of welcoming. After another highly dangerous task from the Hyrule castle, he needed peace and rest. He could deal with the rest of them later.

After retelling the most exiting parts of his journey, Ilia and Link ate the delicious treats and then lay in the grass surrounded by a comfortable silence. That was what Link liked the most of their relationship. They only needed to simply stand one by another to feel relaxed, no need of meaningless talks just to fill the blank spaces.

A wave of longing washed over Link, like so many other times. Countless times. He was almost 21 years old, and he had never been in a formal relationship with anyone. The Royal tasks took too much of his life for him to have one of his own. And that was his most deep desire. To gain back the possession of his life.

He was aware of Ilia's feelings for him, since long ago. And though he didn't love her in a romantic way now, he was certain he could if they had a chance of spending more time together. If he had any time-life- to give, it would be to her.

But as the thoughts came to him, he shoved them hastily aside. He appreciated his friend too much, as to make her miserable. He was a swordsman. A warrior, even if he didn't want to, and there was no space in his life for a family or a woman waiting for him at home, worried and sick with fear for his life.

No, he thought, I couldn't do that to somebody. Much less to Ilia.

Suddenly a big dark cloud blocked the sun, and a strange coldness ran from his spine to his neck. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it in his bones. Just then he saw a movement at the corner of his eye, but found nothing. Only shadows between the thick trees.

I'm just paranoid, he thought.

"We should get back to the-" The cold and nut-sized drops cut her at mid sentence. Both packed the rest of the plates and food in a rush and ran to take cover beneath the trees, with no luck.

"You go to your house!" Ilia shouted over the raindrop shower. "I'll go home with Epona! Come tomorrow and get her!" Without another word, she handed her rain cloak to him and speeded out of sight. An obedient Epona right behind her.

Despite his speechless state concerning Ilia's actions, he grinned at her. It was seconds later that he followed the path to his home.

**_. . ._**

It was so cozy inside the small residence. The humble furniture, the fireplace, everything. It didn't look like a warriors cottage. It looked like a simple villager's house. Even the door was unlocked and it was placed at the outskirts of the village... Actually it was rather an unsafe place. Anyone could come insi-

A tall figure stepped inside the warm room. He tossed a rain soaped cloak blindly into the place and froze when he realized he wasn't alone.

He had changed so much since she had last met him four years ago. He was much more muscular, tanned and his usually soft gaze had gained a coldness and harshness that wasn't there before.

He really does look like a beast, she thought. And she could not help but fear his reaction when he heard what she came to tell him.

_To be continued..._

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic of Zelda. I hope you liked it. As you can tell (I hope I wasn't that obvious) my first language isn't English. I actually speak Spanish, but I wanted to challenge myself. So I wrote the story in another language. Thanks for reading! I hope to read your comments, what do you think so far. If you can/want to, help me correct my grammar/spelling mistakes so you won't have such a hard time reading. And most importantly, enjoy the story!

Filomena Mississippi


	2. Chapter 2

**The Price of Freedom**

She slowly removed the hood from her face. His deep blue eyes widened for a slit of a second, before becoming guarded and defensive.

Link was taken aback with the sight in front of him. He vaguely recalled the princess from the past, when she was in danger. The woman in front of him looked smaller, more fragile than she appeared to be at that time. Now he was almost a head and a half taller than she.

She looked so beautiful; it was hard to look at her. She was the most breathtaking creature he had ever seen. Not that he didn't notice before, but given the situations of danger they were in at the time, he hadn't had time to give her a glance taking in her appearance. Now that he stood relatively close to her, it was almost impossible to ignore. _Almost._

Gaining control of his thoughts, he mentally punched himself for being so weak. Soon he would start drooling in front of her. What for? He didn't even know her. Nor he wanted to, all the opposite in fact. He wanted nothing to do with her.

**At all. **

Link bowed, trying to keep the scowl under the surface. "Princess Zelda". Her cold blue eyes were steady, as the made a movement with her head acknowledging the gesture.

"Swordsman," Her melodic voice filled the room. It was somewhat hypnotic. "I come here to ask for your service."

Her voice. Perfect and calm. She reeked formality and coldness, just as expected from someone who would someday rule Hyrule. Royal. Reminding him of everything he had learned to despise and stay away from, as much as he could, in the last years. In that moment it dawn to him. _Another task?_ He mentally growled. He had just come back, what the hell was going on?

"Your Majesty, I just came back from a mission concerning the welfare of your kingdom. I find it confusing that no one mentioned it—" He was cut in midsentence.

"I require your ability with the sword to guard my life and keep me safe from the danger which has set upon my life."

He stood there silent for a moment waiting for her to further explain the situation, the command. Anything. But as the seconds ticked by, he realized she expected him to respond.

"Who is the target?" He was tired of this cycle. He desperately wanted out.

Her eyes went downcast to regard the floor as she responded. "We have no idea, which makes it worse. It can be someone inside the castle as well as anyone outside. That's why I'm here." His confused stare made her continue, this time with her eyes meeting his. "No one knows where I am, only that I left to a safe place. I left a note and departed the castle as soon as you did. This is not an order from my father, it is a request of my own"

He was slightly irritated. Not only did he have the king on his back, but now the princess too? It was too good to be true. Not.

In the most polite manner he could manage he said, "I'm sorry princess, but I receive orders from the king only. If he hasn't sent it himself or at least approve it, I can't do it"

She was slightly shocked by his answer, but steadied herself before he could notice. "Have you not heard a word I spoke? My life is in _danger. _I _left _the castle to ask for your _help_. You can't just leave me on my own"

Ok, maybe she wasn't so composed, but the previous shock had lead to anger. It was more than a shock to have been denied by him, given everything she did in order to get to him. It infuriated her more than anything ever had before. Not only that but his politeness and calm self over this was like fuel to her growing anger. She expected a fight, certain restraint because she knew he wasn't fond to do what her father told him to. Still something inside her expected to agree, nonetheless.

A deep frown vas set upon his features. She was getting a bit red, but her face was still almost as formal as before.

"Oh yes, I heard. What I didn't hear was the asking-for-my-help part. It was more of an imposition. And princess, I only accept that from the king himself." He regretted the words after they came out of his mouth. Why in the world would he talk to the princess like that? It was true that he wasn't used to talk with royalty, but still he knew better than to just speak bluntly what was in his head to an authority.

She mentally smiled with triumph, her face never giving her away though. The sarcasm was better than the fake formality. Still, she hadn't wanted to impose her request, she really went to ask for his help.

Before Link could apologize, she did. Which left him speechless.

"You're absolutely right, and for that I beg my pardon. I came here to ask for your help in this matter." She looked really ashamed, or at least he thought she did. The princess was excellent at hiding emotions from her features; it was a skill that came most useful for her along the years. Then more quietly Zelda added, "What is it that you want the most?"

Even as he was a bit confused by the question, the answer escaped his lips in a whisper before he could stop it, "Freedom."

Link mentally kicked himself. Why had he been so sincere? Why didn't he just say he wanted a dog, a bigger house, a faster horse, a—

"If you keep your word to protect me, under my own conditions, I'll give you your freedom." Zelda looked very serious, as always, but she had a determined look in her eyes that made Link trust her word. "You will be exonerated from my father's requests if you do as I say."

_**. . .**_

**A/N: **I'm sorry it took so long for me to continue! Between work and studies I have no spare time to write. I know this chapter is short but I will update sooner.

I know this is not the way Link would react in the game. I know he helps everyone with a good heart and smile, but this Link has had his life taken from him. He has changed in those years. So I hope you understand why he reacts like that.

As they say, feedback is love :)

Filomena Mississippi


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